Digital technologies are empowering communities by making it easier for residents to connect and engage with local issues. Over 70% of UK residents now use the internet daily, allowing more than 100 community websites to emerge in London alone. These digital neighbourhoods provide benefits like improved information sharing, democratic participation, and support for local groups and businesses. Research also links strong local social networks online with increased well-being, community cohesion, and resident satisfaction. As government budgets shrink, harnessing these citizen-led online communities may become essential to complement reduced public services.

1. Digital Neighbourhoods
Hugh Flouch
Networked Neighbourhoods

2. Why Now?
Sense of
powerlessness
Alienation from
local community
Concern over
local issues

3. Tecno revolution – tool ownership
In London:
• 63% of households have a PC or laptop
• 76% have access to internet in the home or
outside.
(Source: OFCOM Nations & Regions Tracker, Q1 2009)
• 73% UK population use internet every day
(ONS – Internet Access Household & Individuals, Aug 2009)

4. Tecno revolution – easy connectivities

5. “One of the few uncontentious tenets of
economics is that people respond to
incentives. If you give them more a reason
to do something, they will do more of it.
And if you make it easier to do more of
something they are already inclined to do,
they will also do more of it.”
Here Comes Everybody, Clay Shirky

6. Social Network

7. Citizen Journalism

8. Blog
Blog-based

9. Traditional forum

10. Read only

11. Listings oriented

12. Multiples

13. aggregators

14. London’s Digital Neighbourhoods
• Community focussed sites - >100
• Resident Associations / Friends of
groups – 1,320 (est)
• Multiples – 200 (est)
• Aggregators

15. Reader/Member Engagement
Site UK Rank Global TOS Links
(11.23m) Rank
Se1 4,885 116,119 1.9 4,406
Urban 75 8,710 69,044 1.7 739
East Dulwich Forum 11,520 229,851 5 56
Chiswick W4 16,028 324,404 3.3 83
Harringay Online 25,095 816, 930 4.9 44
Haringey Council 6,912 181,145 3.6 362
Ham & High 35,142 509,651 2.0 367
Haringey Independent 44,617 927,043 77
Crouch End & Hornsey Journal Unranked 2,540,764 1.3 94
Haringey Advertiser Unranked 10,838,273 1
(Source: alexa.com, 28/09/09)

16. “Social Nets
increasingly
becoming an
‘authority’ traffic
source”
“Government sites
receive more traffic
from Social Nets than
News and Media”

17. Positive
Impacts
- the available
evidence

18. Empowerment & Engagement

19. Community Cohesion
Netville & e-
neighbours studies
Keith Hampton

20. Satisfaction with Local Area

21. Better Local Information
• improved relevance of local news
• improved access to local services
• better consumer information and advice
• stronger involvement in community affairs
• enhanced democratic participation
• support for local production and training.
(Source: Digital Local, Ofcom, 2006)

22. Wellbeing
Wellbeing is higher:
• in areas where residents can influence
decisions affecting their
neighbourhood
• amongst people who have regular
contact with their neighbours.
(Source: Neighbourliness + Empowerment = Wellbeing, Young Foundation, 2007)

23. Building Local Capacity
“The current global financial turmoil bolsters the case
for government adoption of social networks as
technology-budget cuts make tapping into societal
resources, such as voluntary groups, philanthropists,
associations and social network groups essential to
complement weaker government action in some
critical areas…the most promising, and yet, most
disruptive, communities are those created outside
government”
(The Business Impact of Social Computing on Government, Gartner, October
2008)

24. Hugh Flouch
hugh.flouch@networkedneighbourhoods.com